Journal box and method of making the same



06.8.1 0- A m HASSE w ,216,113

JOURNAL BOX AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed April 12, 1955 y g /2 g 14 i 13 jjj jij I I INVENTQR FRANKCHASSE ATTORNEY Patented on. is, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2.21am JOURNAL Box AND METHOD or MAKING .rnn SAME Frank C. Hasse, La Grange, 111., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, a corporation of New York Application April 12, 1935, Serial No. 15,942 2 Claims. (01. 29-466) This invention relates to a journal box, and more particularly a Journal box which is flamecut from a single forged or rolled billet. The invention also relates to amethod of making the 6 Journal box. The invention is especially useful in connection with the construction of;improved locomotive drivingboxes but it is equally applicableto other typesof iournal'boxes.

.Inthepast itihasbeen customary to form opposite walls of the recess at the. ends of an arcuate socket it for the support of the usual crown brass (not shown). The driving box extends beneath *the prominences i3 on either side to provide space for the accommodation of the 5 usual lubricating cellar (not illustrated).

' The contour of the driving box is cut from the solid billet by guiding a cutting oxygen Jet over the .billet' which is'heated along the line of cut to the ignition temperatureof steel in oiqgen, as by an accompanying mgr-acetylene preheating flame. "Preferably the billet is first stood- 10 Journal boxes'by first casting the 'partand then machining certainsurfaces thereon. The resulting iouriial-boxhas accordingly been subject to the-limitations of castings; the reliability of its performance has beenuncertain, and its llfe'has generally been short. 'This is particularly true of locomotive driving boxes, which must sustain horizontal-'thmst as well as vertical dead weight.

One object offlthe invention therefore. is to provide a Journal boxwhich will have the properties of a forged or rolled member Another object is the provision of such a journal box ineconomipal form, and so shaped as to require the minimum amount of machining. A further object is to provide an inexpensive process of ,5 cutting such a part from a roiled or forged billet.

Other objects will become apparent from the present specification.

The invention is shown by'way of illustration,- in its application to a locomotive driving box, in so the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a driving box constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 1, being half vertical elevation. half mid-sec ion;

I Fig. 3 is an elevation of the driving box as seen irom the right in Fig. 1.

' I have found that a serviceable journal box may be produced by cutting a single solid steel billet of substantially rectangular cross section to the desired contour by means of an oxygen jet and a gas flame suchas an oxy-acetylene preheating time. I have found further that such flame-cutting may be expeditiously per- 43 formed if applied to a hot billet either as it comes from the rolls or after being re-heated.

Referring-now more particularly to the drawing, they show outlined in broken lines In and ii a billet from which, a locomotive driving box I2 is cut, thebillet having dimensions greater than but approximately the outside dimensions of the box. The driving box I! is made in the usual form with a recess extending inwardly from the bottom surface of the box and prominences i3 interiorly thereof forming ledges M on with the face shown in Fig. l upward, and the contour of the faces of the billets are flame-cut to the'pattern of-the .ends of the box. including 15 the recesses 18 and the adjacent shoulders I1 and i8. Following this, the billet is laid on its side with the side face illustrated in Fig. 2 upward, and the interior contour shown in Fig. 2 is cut into the billet fromits bottom surface-to remove 50 metal and leave a recess, including the outline of the arcuate socket I5, the'ledges H, and the prominences it. While still in this position the exterior outline I! at the foot or bottom of the driving box is cut, followed by the contour 20 at 25 Thus, the faces of the promlnences i3, the

ledges H, the arcuate socket i5: and the recesses it together with the shoulders i1 and it comprising the end contour surfaces of the driving box, are cut to allow for machining and are sub- 0 sequently machined. During the machining operations following the flame-cutting of the driving box from the billet, spring saddle seats 23 may be milled, or drilled and' chipped out of the top of the driving box. Also, during machin- 5 ing operations, the hub side of the driving box. may be machined out at 24 to a slight depth, say V inch, to permit accommodation of the usual thrust hearing bronze.

Oil cavities 25 may be subsequently drilled in $0 the driving box, and also ducts 28 connecting the oil cavities with the innermost face of the adiaoe'nt recess i6.

Clearly, the drivlng'box may be cut directly from the billet as it comes from the rolls. utilizing l6 at least 750 Fahrenheit, and if desirable between this lower limit and 850' Fahrenheit as an upper limit. However, it is possible to flame-cut a driving box directly from a cold billet, although such an operation requires considerably greater gas consumption. The cutting instrument is preferably a gas cutting machine, for instance, using appropriate patterns or templets and such a machine as that disclosed in Patent No. 1,77%865 for "Blowpipe apparatus," granted September 2, 1930, to Isaiah Allison; but a hand-operated blowpipe may be used.

It will be appreciated that a unitary driving box out directly from a forged or rolled steel billet has the strength and lasting qualities of the steel or iron forging of which it is made, and breakage of such driving boxes, when properly designed, is substantially impossible under normal service conditions. Furthermore, the expense necessitated by replacing broken driving boxes is eliminated. Finally, the metal from which such driving boxes are cut is especially adapted to welding and to being built up by the oxy-acetylene method, as a result of which the service life of such a part? may be extended almost indefinitely by welding additional metal to the part as it becomes worn. I

From the foregoing itv will become apparent that the necessity of maintaining in locomotive shops extensive stocks of castings for the various types of driving boxes is eliminated when the boxes areformed as described. It is merely necessary to keep on hand a few billets of proper general dimensions from which the driving boxes maybe cut without delay according'to the pattern desired.

While the particular description given herein refers to driving boxes it will be apparent that the sameprinciples and the same method may be applied in forming other journal boxes with substantially the same advantages. Thus, the same method may be applied to form engine truck journal boxes, trailer truck journal boxes, or similar journal boxes for electric locomotives, oil 10- comotives or gas-electric-motors. Any or all of these may be flame-cut to the desired pattern by the same general procedure. The foregoing description is therefore, to be takenmerely as one example of how the invention may be applied.

I claim:

1. A unitary steel journal box made from a solid steel billet of substantially rectangular cross section, said journal box having contour portions at opposite faces thereof flame-cut to finished dimensions andconstituting the top and bottom surfaces of said-box; the contours of the end and side faces of said box comprising machined flame-cut surfaces; and a recess extending inwardly from said bottom surface and having ledges on opposite walls thereof and a crown brass receiving socket at its inner end, at least said socket and said ledges within said recess having machined flame-cut surfaces.

2. A method of making a unitary steel journal box which comprises providing a solid steel billet of substantially rectangular cross section and having dimensions which are greater than but approximately the outside dimensions of said box; flame cutting contour portions of two opposite faces of said billet to finished dimensions to form the top and bottom sur'faces'of said box; flame cuttings contours of the end and side faces of said billet to the patterns'of the ends and sides of the box but allowing sufllcient metal for machining;

flame cutting into said billet from said bottom surface to removemetal and leave a recess having ledges on opposite walls thereof and'a crown brass receiving, socketat' its inner end; and ma chining said socket, said ledges, and portions of such flame-cut ends and sides.

FRANK C. HASSE. 

